What is grass-fed beef?

What differentiates meat labelled grass-fed from other meat is how cattle are fed during their last few months of life. Photo: TNS/Dreamstime

One of my favourite activities is helping my son-in-law with his cattle. This time of year as the cold weather sets in, he moves them from a far pasture to one closer to the barn. Then when the snow begins to fly, he supplements their grass diet with extra calories and protein from hay and grain.

What’s interesting is that these contented cows, that spend most of their lives grazing on pasture grass, are not considered grass-fed, according to the official definition by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In order for beef to be marketed as “grass-fed”, says the USDA, the animal can be fed strictly grass or hay (no grain) throughout life, except for the milk they get from their mums at birth.